Bellingham grads launch nightlife app

Andrew Melchiorri and Chris Haddad recently launched a mobile app, MassNightly, which allows users to search for events and special offers at bars and restaurants all over Massachusetts.

By Jessica Trufant/Daily News staff

Milford Daily News

By Jessica Trufant/Daily News staff

Posted Dec. 23, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 23, 2012 at 11:05 PM

By Jessica Trufant/Daily News staff

Posted Dec. 23, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 23, 2012 at 11:05 PM

BELLINGHAM

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While other young adults put in long hours at the office, Andrew Melchiorri and Chris Haddad have a seemingly odd plan for advancing their careers – mingling at different bars seven nights a week.

The Bellingham natives recently launched a mobile app, MassNightly, which allows users to search for events and special offers at bars and restaurants all over Massachusetts.

"The feedback has been awesome, which is great because it’s hard to do something like this, and it becomes your baby," said Melchiorri, 24. "Almost every night we’re in a bar, just approaching people and telling them about the app, and we get a lot of people who are interested."

"I’ve had people come up to me and say, 'I had no idea this place had 25 cent wings before I started using your app,'" Haddad, 22, added.

Since the free app went live in August, more than 2,500 people have downloaded it, and more than 250 bars and restaurants across the state post their specials or ongoing events. Of the 59 reviews the app has, 58 are five stars, and 1 gets four stars.

"We’re at the point now where it’s been out for four months, we’re getting a steady amount of downloads, and we really want to expand it," said Melchiorri, the mastermind behind MassNightly.

Melchiorri and Haddad launched the website version, MassNightly.com, about a year ago after mulling the idea for a while. They’ve seen a big increase in users since it went mobile with the app for iPhone and Android devices.

"The mobile app was the big push to get our names out there," Melchiorri said. "People always said, 'The website is cool, but an app would be better since people are on the go.'"

Both the website and the app let users search by category (menu specials, live music, special event, trivia and karaoke), location and date. Users can also add events and specials to a schedule for future reference.

From the venues’ perspective, MassNightly offers a free advertising platform to bring people in for food specials or live music. Haddad said each bar or restaurant that signs up for free creates its own account to post events.

"It’s really easy for them to manage and set up events, and we can control it from our end as well so we check accuracy," said Haddad, who has a degree in information technology from Curry College.

"Our whole business is run off the partnerships, which is nice and it’s mutually beneficial for us, the bar and the user," said Melchiorri, a senior at UMass Boston.

Convincing people and venues to try the app is the easy part – getting the business up and running on virtually no budget while working part-time jobs was the real challenge, according to the Bellingham High School graduates.

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"It was baby steps. It was a long, long process, and it was trial and error," Melchiorri said, adding they had to incorporate the business and find the right developers for the website and app.

Launching a successful app largely depends on who you know, and whether they’re onboard with the idea, Melchiorri said. For instance, the friends lucked out with the app developer, And Plus LLC in Worcester.

"The owner was really helpful because he liked the concept and what we were doing, and saw we were working hard with little money, so he helped us out," Melchiorri said. "He had a personal interest in it."

The friends hope to find an angel investor – an investor who provides financial backing for small startups – so they can expand the business throughout New England.

"It takes up all our free time. If we’re not working, we’re working on the app, and it isn’t cheap, so to expand the way we want to, we need investors," Melchiorri said.

Along with their dedication, Melchiorri and Haddad said being part of their target audience and having a keen understanding of what those people desire in an app gives them an advantage.

"There’s no ads or spam when you register because we didn’t want users to get email blasts all the time and think, ‘not another email,’" Haddad said.

For more information or to use MassNightly, visit MassNightly.com, or search for MassNightly in the iPhone or Android app store.

Jessica Trufant can be reached at 508-634-7556 or JTrufant@wickedlocal.com.